1. Field of the Invention
The object of the present invention is a method of encapsulating semiconductor components, especially highly complex components, and the resulting encapsulated components themselves.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The encapsulation of highly complex semiconductor components is an important factor in the manufacture of integrated circuits, to the extent that the techniques utilized are often costly, especially in the case insufficiently large production runs. This is the case, for example, with the TAB method of mounting chips on support film.
The main problem which arises is the making of external connections to the integrated circuits, in that one aim is to increase the possible number of connections while another is to reduce the size of the final component to the greatest possible extent. It is these essential external connections which take up most space, since there is no technology in existence for reducing these to the size of those utilized within the integrated circuits they serve.
If the chips are soldered to a metal connecting array formed from metal film, the mechanical stresses which the array must withstand before soldering limit the extent to which the dimensions of the connecting leads may be reduced.
On the other hand, while it is possible to form a connecting array of very small dimensions on a substrate, using the various techniques commonplace in microelectronics, such as selective deposition through a mask, additive photolithography or possibly subtractive photolithography if the substrate is first coated with a layer of metal, there is no technique available for separating the connecting array from the insulating substrate carrying it, so that it is not possible to use the resulting connection array unless the connections are placed on the same side as the chip, which is not the intended aim.
The object of the present invention is thus a method of encapsulating semiconductor components, and especially highly complex components, which provides for the production of encapsulated components having a connecting array of very small dimensions.